Tough Little Boys
by Bunny1
Summary: Tag to 'Truth, Unrevealed'. Lux goes to Baze and tells him about Bug leaving... One shot, complete.


~Well I never once  
Backed down from a punch  
Well I'd take it square on the chin  
But I found out fast  
That a bully's just that  
And you've got to stand up to them

So I didn't cry when I got a black eye  
As bad as it hurt, I just grinned  
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again.~

Lux walked into Open Bar, smiling when she saw her father, Baze, standing at the bar. It was funny, she just connected with him within seconds--- the way it should have been, if they'd met when she was sixteen _minutes_ old instead of sixteen years. But, somehow that didn't really seem to matter. They just... connected. She was starting to connect with Cate--- slowly. It was a _lot _slower there. Ryan wasn't helpful in that. Not that he wasn't a nice guy, but, the way he kept disparaging Baze and trying to get Cate to keep him at a distance... But, it didn't matter right now. What mattered was right here and right now... and that nothing else could taint that... right?

Baze was flirting with some drunken floozy, and the floozy was lapping it up like a kitten who'd fallen into a bucket of cream. Not that Lux could blame her--- he was 9 kinds of handsome and oozed charm. But, he stopped and turned his full attention to her the second she walked up.

"Hey, Lux." he smiled. "What's up?"

The floozy didn't seem to appreciate the brush off, but, neither Lux nor Baze could have cared less.

Lux shrugged. "Not much..."

Baze frowned a bit; something was off with her. He walked from behind the bar, putting a gentle hand on her shoulders. "C'mon, Jamie can take over for me. Why don't we go upstairs, see if I can't finally beat you at Dragon Ball?"

Lux nodded. "Sure, okay."

~Scared me to death  
When you took your first steps  
And I'd fall every time you fell down  
Your first day of school, I cried like a fool  
And I followed your school bus to town

Well I didn't cry, when Old Yeller died  
At least not in front of my friends  
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again~

Lux sat down next to him, and Baze just kind of looked at her, like he was trying to figure her out.

"_What_?" she finally asked.

"I just... something's bugging you." he blurted. "I can tell, and, I was worried..."

At the word "bug", Lux's eyes welled up.

"Hey, hey..." Baze said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong? Don't cry..." he said, sounding a bit helpless.

"I... I'm sorry." she said, wiping her cheeks off. "You're right. I shouldn't..."

Baze sighed. "No, it's not _that_... Everybody cries, it's okay; I just... don't like for you to be upset?" he tried to explain.

Lux shook her head. "Bug's gone." she said.

"Gone?" Baze asked, trying to sound neutral, though, a part of him wanted to cheer--- he thought the kid was a little douche, and didn't trust him with Lux.

"Yes... Cate... she told me to be honest with him, and, I dunno... he left."

Baze frowned, brushing her hair back from her face. "Honest about what, kiddo?"

Lux sighed. "That I didn't like the way he was treating me... but, that just made him angry; I shouldda left it alone, and he'd still _be_ here..." she sniffed.

~Well I'm a grown man  
But as strong as I am  
Sometimes its hard to believe  
How one little girl, with little blonde curls  
Could totally terrify me

If you were to ask, my wife would just laugh  
She'd say "I know all about men  
How tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again"~

Baze's jaw clenched slightly, and his voice sounded different suddenly. "How exactly was it he was... treating you?"

Lux looked at him sideways. "He... he asked me to help him get the charges dropped. Try to talk Jones into it."

"By doing _what_?!" Baze demanded loudly.

_"If that little douche tried to get her to sleep with some guy to help him out, I'm gonna castrate him!" _Baze thought to himself.

"By talking to him... relax?" Lux said with a sigh. "But, then, when he gave me a ride home after I'd talked to him, Bug was there. He lost it. He... called me damaged goods, and easy. Cate made him leave, and then told me I should demand to be treated better. But, he told me, 'you want better, go get better', and asked me to leave _his _place." she said softly. "Then, this morning, Gavin called... he left town. He didn't even tell me... I shouldn't've listened to Cate. She won't even be honest with Ryan."

Baze looked at her incredulously. This was all wrong...

He knelt in front of her. "Lux... listen to me, okay? That little bastard is_ lucky _he left town, because if I had known about this, I would've put his ass in traction!"

Lux looked at him unsurely.

"But---"

"No, no 'buts'. No nothing... You don't... I don't care what happens, you don't deserve to be treated like that. You don't _put up with _being treated like that. I ever hear about anyone talking to you that way, I'm gonna kick their ass, okay?"

Lux nodded.

"Don't be mad at Cate--- she told you the right thing, even if she's not strong enough right now to follow her own advice. Though, I oughtta have some words with her for knowing he talked to you like that and not calling me." he muttered.

Lux tilted her head at him.

"Know what? Ryan can go screw himself; I'm gonna come over there just as much as I want to see you."

Lux smiled. "Good. Cause, you're my favorite person ever to hang with."

Baze grinned, and cupped her face in his hands, kissing the top of her head."You're mine, too, Goldilocks. You're mine, too..."

~Well I know one day, I'll give you away  
But I'm gonna stand there and smile  
But when I get home, and I'm all alone  
Well, I'll sit in your room for a while

Well I didn't cry when Old Yeller died  
At least not in front of my friends  
But when tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again

When tough little boys grow up to be dads  
They turn into big babies again~


End file.
